U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas endorsed Republican Yesli Vega in Virginia’s 7th District.

In a statement, the senator said he was proud to endorse Vega, a Prince William County supervisor and Northern Virginia law enforcement veteran.

“Yesli is a fighter who understands the importance of supporting blue, securing our southern border and protecting our 2nd Amendment,” Cruz said in a statement.

“Yesli has a deep commitment to her community and I look forward to her serving the people of Virginia in Congress.”

In a campaign statement, Vega said she was honored that Cruz recognizes that she is the ‘true conservative leader’ needed to win back the 7th from incumbent Rep. Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat Henrico who is running in the new congressional district which still includes Culpeper, Orange and Spotsylvania.

“Senator Cruz is a champion of the conservative movement and her endorsement reinforces the fact that I am the only candidate in this race with a record that can defeat Abigail Spanberger,” Vega said. “I’m excited to fight side-by-side in defense of freedom and liberty in America with Senator Cruz when I’m elected to Congress in November.”

Vega, the county supervisor since 2018, announced her candidacy for Congress in January. It’s a crowded field of Republican candidates from the 7th District seeking the party’s nomination to run against Spanberger in November.

State Sen. Bryce Reeves, R-Spotsylvania, and combat veteran Derrick Anderson, a former Green Beret, also from Spotsy, are among the other Republicans in the race.

Vega is a Houston, Texas-born military wife, mother, and law enforcement officer to Salvadoran immigrants fleeing the Civil War, according to the campaign website’s biography.

Vega grew up in Virginia where she met her high school sweetheart, Rene, her husband of 15 years. He is a military veteran and the couple have two children.

Vega entered law enforcement after experiencing gang violence against her own relatives. She has worked for the Alexandria City Police Department, Manassas Park PD, and Prince William County Sheriff’s Office, where she remains an Auxiliary Officer.

“As your voice and representative in Washington, Yesli looks forward to fulfilling Congress’s responsibility to be a check and balance on the woefully inept Biden administration. She will be a staunch defender of the timeless American ideals of freedom, limited government, and the restoration of the rule of law,” her online biography said.

The first in her immediate family to earn a college degree, the candidate holds a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from American Military University, for which she serves as an ambassador, and is a graduate of the Northern Virginia Criminal Justice Academy.